| The arguments to transform Hyde Park United Methodist Church are historical, contextual, practical and biblical: The arguments are historical because the origins of this congregation tell us about a church looking to be a minor and a reflex of its community. In this way, the efforts to transform Hyde Park Church into a multicultural congregation with social conscience is part of its own roots;The arguments are contextual because the world that saw this congregation been born is not the same. The community around the congregation has been transformed in an ethnic and cultural diverse community with big challenges in the area of social justice. This transformation in the community reclaims a transformation within the congregation of Hyde Park.;The arguments are practical because the project to transform Hyde Park is a most if we want to preserve this congregation from its extinction as a religious entity. Nevertheless, the main reason for this transformation should not be the mere interest in self preservation, but, the search for God's justice to include people from other ethnic groups, cultures and languages.;Finally, the arguments are biblical because the Scriptures clearly establish that we were created in God's image. In each human being there is God's image and in God, ours. The Scriptures show us a God looking that justice can be established among his people and especially among those groups who are more susceptible in the society. In the Bible we see prophets proclaiming a more universal message. We see a Jesus who establishes the bases for a message to the whole world. In Acts 2, with the coming of the Holy Spirit, God is committed to reach every human being in their own tongue and culture. Even the development of the theology of the body of Christ is the answer of the primitive church to the growing diversity they experimented when they started reaching more and more people beyond the Jewish world, religion and culture. |
